It seems every time Eric “Butterbean” Esch wants to go, people keep pulling him back in.

The bowling-ball shaped super heavyweight last week took a road trip with his wife from his home in Jasper, Ala., to Worcester, Mass., where he fights and co-promotes “Moosin: God of Martial Arts” on May 21 at the DCU Center.

Esch (15-7), 43, didn’t want to be on the card. He’d rather work behind the scenes as a promoter. But Boston radio personality Lyondon Byers challenged him to a fight and said the proceeds of his purse would go to charity. He would get all the press he wanted. How could he lose?

“I get to beat up a hockey player,” Esch told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Byers, 36, is a former professional hockey player who’s never fought professionally in mixed martial arts. He is donating his purse to The Massachusetts State Troopers Charity, which benefits the families of slain Boston police officers.

It’s the third time Esch has fought at an event that he’s promoted. He’s boxed for 15 years – kickboxing and MMA for seven. He wants to retire and leave the fighting to the kids – like his own kids, sons Caleb, 21, and Brandon, 24, who want to make careers out of MMA. Truth be told, he’s not thrilled they want to fight in the first place, but he’s not the best example.

“I’d really rather them not, but I’m very supportive of them now that they want to do it,” Esch said. “I’ve had 200 fights and I can feel it. But you don’t think about it when you’re that age.”

A year ago, Esch shut down his restaurant, Mr. Bean’s BBQ, because he was promoting and fighting so much. He’s become somewhat of a cult hero for his rotund physique and pop culture appearances.

He knocked out Johnny Knoxville in a department store in the 2002 movie, “Jackass.”

Along with Byers, the Korea-based Moosin has seen a surge of interest in the event’s headliner, a bout between “World’s Strongest Man” competitor Mariusz Pudzianowski and former UFC champion Tim Sylvia. Pudzianowski, a bona fide star in his home country of Poland, fought earlier this month in his second MMA bout ever and defeated Yusuki Kawaguchi by unanimous decision.

Esch said Boston’s Polish community is gaga over Pudzianowski’s appearance on the May 21 card. He doesn’t think the fight will go past the first round.

Moosin originally targeted former boxing champion James Toney to headline the event against Houston Alexander before Toney signed with the UFC in March.

“James committed to fight for us,” Esch said. “He said, ‘It’s a done deal.’ He said, ‘I’m going in the morning to sign the contract with attorneys.’ Next day I talk to him he’s on his way to the attorneys; next thing I know he’s on an airplane going to meet Dana White in (Las) Vegas.”

“[James] flew to Vegas to tell Dana White off, and where Dana can stick it. But I guess Dana got out the checkbook and James went crazy and Dana offered him … all this big money.”

Esch also promotes “professional wrestling” shows, though MMA is his favorite. He has a fraction of the UFC’s marketing muscle and has to generate interest on a budget. He’s the 400-pound little guy, and he likes that.

“It’s a challenge to get things done without going totally broke,” he said.

As of last week, he said the 14,000-seat DCU Center is about half-sold.

After this fight, he and his wife will drive back to Alabama without an itinerary. The last time they got to sightsee without a schedule was when they drove to California. He hopes this is the last time he comes home sore from a fight.

“It’s time to slow down a little bit and let the younger guys do it, and give them a venue to fight in,” Esch said.

The full “Moosin: God of Martial Arts” event includes:

MAIN CARD

Marius Pudzianowski vs. Tim Sylvia

Mu Bae Choi vs. Travis Wiuff

Travis Lutter vs. Rafael Natal

Mike Campbell vs. Yves Edwards

Tara LaRosa vs. Roxy Modafferi

PRELIMINARY CARD

Lyndon Byers vs. Eric “Butterbean” Esch

Lukasz Jurkowski vs. Chang Seob Lee

Matt Lee vs. Brett Oteri

Ralph Johnson vs. Forrest Petz

Paul Barry vs. Stipe Miocic

Fred Belleton vs. Anthony Byers

Steven Marrocco is a staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com and an MMA contributor for The Vancouver Sun.

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